Retainer valve

ABSTRACT

THIS RETAINER VALVE HAS A SLEEVE VALVE ROTATED BY A HANDLE TO THREE DIFFERENT POSITIONS. A TUBULAR BUSHING AROUND THE SLEEVE VALVE HAS THREE AIR PORTS, EACH OF DIFFERENT CAPACITY, WHICH ARE ADAPTED TO COMMUNICATE WITH AIR PORTS IN THE SLEEVE VALVE AND THESE WITH AN EXHAUST OPENING IN THE VALVE BODY. A PISTON IN THE SLEEVE VALVE CONTROLS ONE OF THE AIR PORTS. AN OBLIQUE O-RING SEAL IN THE TUBULAR BUSHING SEALS THE DIFFERENT PORTS FROM THE EXHAUST PASSAGE IN THE DIFFERENT HANDLE POSITIONS. IN ONE POSITION FULL AIR EXHAUST IS PROVIDED FROM THE AIR BRAKE PIPE IN THE SECOND POSITION 20 P.S.I. IS RETAINED BY THE PISTON CONTROL, WHILE IN THE THIRD POSITION A SLOW RESTRICTED EXHAUST IS PROVIDED.

0d. 24, 1972 H. R. BILLETER RETAINER VALVE I5 Sheets-Sheet 1 OriginalFiled Dec. 27, 196

Fig 2 Fig. I

R n m. mm w W R III.

PARKER 8 6mm? ATTORNEYS H. R. BILLETER Re. 27,514

RETAINER VALVE Oct. 24, 1972 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 OriginalFiled Dec. 27.1967 INVFNTOR HENRY R BILLETEn PARKER 6 CARTER ATTORNEYS Oct. 24, 1972BlLLETER Re. 27,514 I RETAINER VALVE Original Filed Dec. 27. 1967 5Sheets-'Sheet 5 I NVENTOR HENRY R. BILLETER PARKER 8 CARTER arromvsrsUnited States Patent 27,514 RETAINER VALVE Henry R. Billeter, Deerfield,Ill., assignor to Sloan Valve Company, Chicago, Ill. Original No.3,526,248, dated Sept. 1, 1970, Ser. No. 693,801, Dec. 27, 1967.Application for reissue Mar.

22, 1971, Ser. No. 126,624

Int. Cl. F16k 11/00; B60t 15/54 U.S-. Cl. 137599.2

Matter enclosed in heavy brackets II] appears in the original patent butforms no part of this reissue specification; matter printed in italicsindicates the additions made by reissue.

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This retainer valve has a sleeve valverotated by a handle to three different positions. A tubular bushingaround the sleeve valve has three air ports, each of different capacity,which are adapted to communicate with air ports in the sleeve valve andthese with an exhaust opening in the. valve body. A piston in thesleevevalve conprovided.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION "In operating freight trains over longdescending grades it is common practice to retain a light brakeapplication at all times. It is also desirable however that the trainbraking system be kept completely charged during this cycling of thebrakes. To provide these features retainer valves are provided on eachrailroad car which function when set, to retain a chosen air pressurewithin the brake cylinder at all times. This air charge is retained eventhough'the AB control valves are in the release position. These retainervalves are usually located on the end wall of a freight car adjacent thehand brake.

DESCRIPTION or THE PRIOR ART Retainer valves as formerly constructed hadirregular shaped bodies and several spring pressed valves controllingvarious size air ports, together with an operating handle having a valvemember with different ports adapted to be placed in communication withthe several valves. This construction was difficult to service andmaintain, was costly to produce and often unreliable in operation. Thisconstruction also was conducive to leakage through the various valveseats since no reliable air seals were employed to compensate for wearand vibration during train movements.

The principal object of the invention is, therefore, to design animproved retainer valve that is much simpler in construction, is lesscostly to manufacture, requires considerably less servicing andmaintenance, is reliable and positive in operation, and is leakproof.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional side view of theretainer valve of the invention shown in large scale;

FIG. 2 is a full-size top view of the valve;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional side view of the two-section tubular bushingand sealing ring;

@FIG. 4 is a top view of one of the tubular bushings; FIG. 5 is a sideview of one of the tubular bushings; FIG. 6 is a top View of the sleevevalve; 7

18 Claims Re. 27,514 Reissued Oct. 24, 1972 DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERREDEMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings, FIGS. 1 and 2, the retainervalve comprises a hollow cylindrical-shaped body 5 of brass havingsupporting flanges 6 and 7 on the bottom end for suitably mounting thedevice, as by bolts, upon a retaining valve mounting bracket on the endwall of a freight car or other type of railroad car. On the side wall ofthe body 5, there is an air exhaust opening 8 provided, which airopening is protected from entry of insects and dirt by a rubber disc 9,centrally slitted so that internal air pressure will force open theslits to permit airto exhaust from the opening. The rubber disc 9 isheld in place inthe opening 8 by a snap ring 10.

Thetop end of the body 5 is enclosed by a rotatable cover plate 11,having a manually operable depending handle 12 formed integraltherewith, so that the cover plate 11 is rotated whenever the handle 12is actuated in a clockwise direction. The rotation of the handle 11 islimited for movement in one direction by a lug. 13 formed on the bottomof the handle engaging a similar lug 14 formed on the bottom of the body5. Another lug 15 formed on the top side of the body limits movement ofthe handle in the other direction. The handle 12 is adapted to berotated and frictionally locked into' each of three difierent positions.A third log 16, formed on the top of the body 5, serves as an indiciafor the different handle positions, designated as EX, HP and SD, on thecover, the purpose of which will be hereinafter explained. 7

Within the hollow body 5, there is arranged a two-part tubular bushinggenerally designated at 20 and preferably made of a plastic materialsuch as polycarbonate and trade marked Noryl. The bushing 20 is moldedof two identical parts, one of which 21, is'inserted from the top end ofthe hollow body 5, and the other 22, from the bottom end. At the outerends of each bushing part, a series of one or more spaced lugs areformed, such as 23 on bushing 21, and lugs 24 on bushing 22. These lugsare set in recesses such as 25 and 26, formed on each end of the body 5,and are for the purpose of preventing rotation of the tubular bushing 20within the body. The lugs and recesses are spaced unequally around theedge of the bushings 21 and 22,"so that the bushings can only beinserted into the body in one positive position. The inner edges 30 and31 of busing's 21 and 22,'as seen in FIG.'3, are formed at a diagonalangle as shown, and between these edges 30 and 31, a sealing ring suchas O-ring 32 is placed conforming'to the general contour of the twodiagonal or oblique edges of the two tubular bushings. The O-ring 32fits between the two diagonal surfaces 30 and 31 whenthe two busings 21and 22 are assembled together in position'in the body 5-. The sealingring 32 has interference or close fit between the body 5 and the sleeve33, thus preventing leakage past the sealing ring. In FIG. '3 theseparts are all shown slightly spaced apart for the sake of clarity.

A hollow sleeve valve member 33, preferably made of brass, is insertedand arranged within the tubular sleeve 20 for rotary movement th'ereih.The top end 34 of the sleeve valve 33 is attached to the cover plate 11by a pair of recessed bolts 35 located and threaded off-center into thetop of the sleeve valve 33 in tapped holes 36 and 37, as best seen inFIGS. 6 and 9. It will therefore be apparent from the above thatwhenever the handle 12 is actuated clockwise, the cover plate 11, asWell as the sleeve valve 33, will be rotated as a unit. The operatinghandle 12 is adapted to control the rotation of the sleeve valve 33 intothree separate positions. In the first and normal position with thehandle hanging downward as shown in FIG. 2, a direct exhaust (EX) isprovided through the valve; in the second position a high pressure airretaining (HP) condition is provided; and in the third position a slowdirect exhaust (SD) is provided. The exhaust opening 8 is positioneddownward to help prevent entrance of dirt outside the flexible disc 9.

'In order to insure that the handle 12 and sleeve valve 33 remain intheir set positions and are not dislodged during movements andvibrations of the railroad car, the handle 12 is frictionally locked ineach of the adjusted positions. This locking means consists preferablyof a pair of locking pins 40 and 41, slidably arranged in bores 42 and43 at the top end 34 of the sleeve valve 33. Between the pins 40 and 41,there is a spring 44, normally urging the pins apart, as best seen inFIG. 10. The outward ends of pins 40 and 41 are slightly tapered and areadapted to snap into and engage oppositely arranged recesses 45, formedin the inner edges of a ring 46, thereby preventing unintentionaldislodgement of the retainer valve handle from its selected setting. Thering 46 has a series of lugs 48 formed around its periphery which fitinto the slots 25 in the top of the body to prevent turning of the ring46. A situable sealing gasket 47 is arranged on a ledge formed aroundthe top end of the tubular bushing 20 and against which the cover plate11 is pressed to seal off the top end of the body for protection againstweather and dirt.

In order to securely clamp the tubular bushing and the sleeve valve 33in the body 5, a snap ring 50 is arranged on the bottom end of theseparts and rests in an annular groove 51 formed in sleeve valve 33. Thesnap ring 50 also presses up against a ring 52 recessed in the bottomend of the body 5, and this ring 52 in turn is clamped against thebottom end of tubular bushing 20, thereby holding all these elements inassembled relationship within the valve body. A circular gasket 53 onthe bottom end of the retainer valve body provides an air seal against asuitable supporting bracket, not shown, to which the inlet air brakeconnection is made. The retainer valve is bolted to such bracket by thebolts in the holes in flanges 6 and 7. A dirt screen 54 is press-fittedacross the air inlet at the bottom of the sleeve valve 33.

Axially slidable within the sleeve valve 33, is a hollow piston 60,having a spring 61 within it extending between the closed bottom end 62of the piston and the top end of the sleeve valve 33. The bottom end 62of the piston bears against a stop pin 63, extending through holes 64,on opposite sides of the sleeve valve 33. A sealing ring such as O-ring65, recessed in a groove in sleeve valve 33, provides the air sealbetween the sides of the piston 60 and the sleeve valve 33.

Both thesleeve valve 33 and the tubular bushing 20, each have ports orair passages of diflerent diameters and capacity extending through theirsides, which are adapted to be placed in communication with the main airexhaust opening 70 in the side of the valve body 5. The sleeve valvemember 33 has three such ports, the exact locations of which are bestseen in FIGS. 7, 8 and 9. The port 75 in sleeve valve 33 having thelargest diameter, is located approximately midway of the length of thesleeve valve 33. Port 76 of a smaller diameter is located almostdirectly opposite the port 75, while port 77 of slightly greaterdiameter than port 76, is located to one side of and above the port 75.The specific location of the ports radially around the sleeve valve 33is best seen in FIG. 8.

Referring now to the ports in the tubular bushing 21, as best seen inFIG. 5, the largest port 80 is located directly in alignment with theair exhaust opening 70 in the valve body. A second port 81 in bushing 21of smaller diameter is located in the same horizontal plane as port andconnected to it by a shallow slot 82 cut in the outside surface of thebushing 21. The third port 83, can be of the same size as port 81, andis located slightly above and to one side of the port 80. A shallow slot84 connects port 83 with port 80. The other lower tubular bushing 22 ofthe two-part bushing 20 is made exactly the same as bushing 21 and hasthe identical ports and slots formed therein. The purpose of providingtwo identically formed tubular bushings 21 and 22, is so that theseparts are interchangeable and in the assembly of the retainer valve itis immaterial whether the bushing 21 is placed on top or on the bottomside of the sealing O-ring 32, as is evident in FIG. 3. The ports in thebushing 22 located on the bottom for example, will be inelfective orsubstantially blocked out by the sealing O-ring 32 from communicationwith any of the ports in the sleeve valve 33 above the O-ring and outthrough the exhaust port 70, in each of the three handle portions, andare therefore ineffective. This is so because while it appears thatleakage could occur between the relative contiguous surfaces between thesleeve valve 33 relative tubular bushing 20 below the O-ring 32 from thesleeve valve ports, the fact is that this apparent leakage takes placeon the inlet side and is balanced and cannot take place on thedownstream side and above the O-ring to the outlet 70.

The hollow piston 60 has an air passage 58 leading to a small port 59 inits side, which port is located below the sealing O-ring 65 in thenormal position of the piston 60 as illustrated, the piston beingnormally held down by the restoring spring 61. Whenever the piston 60 isforced upward by the inlet air pressure, the port 59 is shifted abovethe sealing O-ring 65 opposite the port 77 in sleeve valve 33 and incommunication therewith and with the port 83, whenever the sleeve valve33 is rotated to that particular position to shift the port 77 above thesealing O-ring 32. The annular groove or recess 57 around the innerdiameter of sleeve valve 33 enables the piston port 59 to be effectiveto exhaust the air through port 77 regardless of the rotated position inwhich the piston 60 in the sleeve valve 33 may be placed by the rotationof the sleeve valve.

Referring now to FIG. 11, this diagrammatically indicates the variouspositions of the ports, both in the sleeve valve and the tubularbushing, in each of the three different positions of the operatinghandle 12. The tubular bushings 21 and 22 have both been laid outlineally and it will be assumed that the sleeve valve 33, not indicatedhere, but with its ports shown as dotted circles, is shifted or moved tothe left and behind the tubular bushings. The three different positionsof port 77 in the sleeve valve are indicated as A-1, A-2 and A-3. Port75 is indicated at its different positions at 'B-l, B2 and B-3 whileport 76 is shown at C-1, C-2 and C-3. Whenever any of the ports 75, 76and 77 are moved together by the sleeve valve to the left and behind thelower tubular sleeve 22, and below the sealing O-ring 32, they will beblocked or ineffective whereas when they are moved into position behindthe ports 80, 81 and 83, they will be in communication with the largeport 80 to exhaust position through body opening 70.

DESCRIPTION OF THE OPERATION Assume now that in the normal operation ofa freight car connected in a train on a straight level run and with thebrake pipe charged with air pressures of approximately 70 psi, then eachretainer valve will be set so that the handle 12 is in the vertical orposition EX as shown in FIG. 2. The air brake pipe connection leadingfrom the usual AB control valve to the retainer valve is accordinglyprovided with a full direct and unrestricted exhaust path through theretainer valve over a flow path including the inlet connection 55, ports75, 80, and 70, and outward through the expanded dirt guard 9 and theexhaust opening 8. At this time the piston 60 is also forced upwardpermitting only minor leakage through port 59 above sealing O-ring 65without effect.

Referring again to FlIG. 11, the port 77 in position A-1 is renderedineffective and partially blocked by bushing 21, while port 76 inposition C-1 is partially blocked by bushing 22. As pointed out, port 75is now in the normal position B-1 and exhausts directly through 'port80. In other words, the ports 75 and 77 are downstream from the sealingring 32 and therefore effective, but port 77 is not sealed entirely andno significant amount of air can pass through this port and isconsidered only minor leakage. Port 76 being upstream is at this timeineffective. In the foregoing normal position of handle 12, it is seenthat the retainer valve does not interfere in any manner with theregular operation of the AB control valve in the control of the brakingequipment on the railway car.

When the train is operating in mountainous country and long descendinggrades are encountered, the brakes are often cycled during the descent,or a light brake application is retained at all times. The retainervalves are accordingly all set with their handles 12 in the HP or highpressure retaining position. In this rotated position of the handle, aslow reduction of the air pressure takes place until a pressure drop to20 p.s.i. is reached. That amount of air pressure is retained orconserved in the brake cylinders as the brakes are being cycled, so thatskidding and locking of the car Wheels are prevented and sufiicientbraking pressure is provided at the bottom of the grade for straightruns. In this second position of the retaining valve handle handle 12,the piston 60 will be initially forced upward so that a slow gradualreduction of the air pressure is produced from the original high 50'p.s.i. which it is intended to be retained in the braking system.

The path of this air reduction or gradual leak through the valveincludes the inlet 55, port 58 and restricted port 59, in the piston 60,annular slot 57 and into the port 77 in sleeve valve 33. Port 77 hasbeen rotated opposite port 83 in tubular bushing 21 and therefore theair passes outward through port 83, through the slot 84 and ports 80 and70, to the exhaust opening 70. As seen in FIG. 11 the port 77 has beenshifted from position A1 to A2 to provide the above restricted flow pathwhile port 76 is now rendered ineffective and blocked off at C2 and port75 at B2, both below the sealing O-ring 32 in bushing 22. In otherwords, ports 75 and 76 are now located upstream and therefore subject tobalanced pressures and not effective, while port 77 is downstream andeffective.

When the braking pressure has been reduced to a value of 20 p.s.i. thepiston 60 is forced downward by its spring 61, so that the port 59 isshifted below the sealing C ting, 65, thereby shutting off air flowthrough port 77 and port 83. The port 77 now being positioned at A2, andblocked by sealing O-ring 65, no air can pass through slot 84, and sinceport 80 is also blocked at this time at B-2, and port 76 at (3-2, no aircan escape anywhere from the valve. The 20 p.s.i. is therefore retainedint he brake pipe as long as the operating handle 12"is in the HPposition. This action also enables the air reservoirs to be rechargedwithout losing braking effort as the train continues its downgrade run.

Under certain conditions and at the option of the train Operator when aparticular type of long downgrade and long train is present, a gradualslow air leakage is desirable so that the air brake line and brakecylinder can be recharged during the descent without going into releaseposition. This slow leakage is therefore maintained at all times as thebrakes are being cycled. This SD position is of particular value ingrade operations since in many places it use makes it unnecessary toposition the retainer valve at the top and bottom of the grade. Thevalve handle 12 is accordingly rotated to the third or SD position,thereby rotating the sleeve valve 33 so that port 76 is placed incommunication with port 81 in the tubular bushing 21. Port 81 connectswith slot 82 and this in turn with port 80 and exhaust port 70 to theoutlet 8. The port 76 is sized so that a slow gradual dissipation of theair pressure takes place. Referring to FIG. 11, in the above describedposition of theretainer valve, port 76 is shown positioned at C-3 whileport 77 is at A3 and port 75 at B-3; both the latter ports being blockedoff by the tubular bushing 22 and below the sealing ring 32. Ports 75and 77 being on the upstream side are not now effective while port 76downstream is effective to pass the air at the restricted rate.

In each of the positions-in which the handle 12 has been placed it issnap-locked so that vibration and shocks during train movements cannotdisturb the handle from its set position.

According to present regulations of the Association of AmericanRailroads, the retainer valve must be calibrated and function to permita blow down from a 435 cubic inch volume testing reservoir with aninitial charge of 80 p.s.i., for each of the three different positionsto which the retainer valve is set, and in the time interval specifiedas follows:

1) Direct Exhaust (DE) from 70 to more than 3 seconds.

(2) High Pressure Retain (HP) from 60 to 40 p.s.i. in 33 to 43 seconds.i p

(3) Slow Direct Exhaust (SD) from 6 0 to 40 p.s.i. in 17 to 22. seconds.

In the second (HP) position the air pressure in the brake cylinder shallreduce to and be retained at the piston valve closure point at not lessthan 16 p.s.i. or more than 22 p.s.i.

The ports in the sleeve valve 33 and the tubular sleeve 20 are bored andsized to provide the above conditions and are therefore in accordancewith the above AAR standard regulations. As a preferred example theopening in port 75 is .187 inch, in port 76 .032 inch, and in port 77.062 inch. The size of the opening in port 77 however is not controllingsince the port 59 in the piston 60 is .025 inch. In the tubular bushing21 the size of the ports is of course much larger, port 80 being .312inch and both ports 81 and 83 being .187 inch. The area of the slots 82and 84 are sufficient so no air restriction takes place in thesepassages. t

The retainer valve made according to the invention meets all the aboveAAR specifications and functions in a highly reliable and satisfactorymanner in all respects.

While a particular embodiment has been shown and described, it is notintended to limit the same to details of construction set forth, but,instead, the invention embraces such changes, modifications andequivalents of the various parts and their relationships as come withinthe purviews of the appended claims.

It will be understoodthat the location of the parts in relation to thecars can be varied. Whereas, in FIGS. 1, 3, 4, 5, 7 and 9, the axis ofthe structure is indicated as upright, and I have described thestructure in terms of top and bottom, it will be understood that, inuse, the casing 5 is most commonly applied to a car with its axishorizontally disposed. Therefore,'where I have used the term Top andBottom in describing various parts of the 10 p.s.i. not

device, no limitation is intended, and this language is merely forconvenience in description.

I claim:

1. A retainer valve for railroadcars comprising a cylindrical hollowcasing having a rotatable cover plate enclosing the top end and an airinlet opening connection at the bottom end, a rotatable sleeve valvewithin said hollow casing, said sleeve valvebeing attached at one end tosaid cover plate and rotatable therewith, said hollow casing having aside exhaust opening therein, said sleeve valve having a plurality ofditferent'capacity side airports therein each adapted to establishcommunication with said body exhaust opening as said sleeve valve isrotated to different positions within said hollow casing, and a pistonaxially slidable within said sleeve valve responsive to air pressurefrom said air inlet, said piston having a side air port therein adaptedto communicate with one of said sleeve valve air ports.

2. A retainer valve for railroad cars comprising a cylindrical hollowcasing having a rotatable cover plate enclosing the top end thereof,said hollow casing having an air inlet opening at the bottom end and aside exhaust opening, a rotatable sleeve valve within said hollowcasing, said sleeve valve being closed at the top end and open at thebottom end, said sleeve valve being attached at the top end to saidcover plate and rotatable therewith to different positions, a tubularbushing within said hollow casing and surrounding said sleeve valve,said tubular bushing being fixed in said hollow casing and in engagementwith the side walls of said hollow casing and said sleeve valve, acup-shaped piston axially slidable within said sleeve valve, said sleevevalve and said tubular bushing each having a plurality of air portstherein adapted to communicate with one another and said casing exhaustopening when said sleeve valve member is rotated to different positionsby said cover plate, and an O-ring seal arranged obliquely in saidtubular bushing between said sleeve valve and said hollow casing, saidtubular bushing being constructed of two identical parts, the inner endsof which abut said O-ring on opposite sides thereof and the outer endsbeing supported at opposite ends of said hollow casing.

3. A retainer valve for railroad cars comprising a cylindrical hollowcasing having a rotatable cover plate enclosing the top end thereof andan air inlet opening at the bottom end, and operating handle on saidcover for rotating the same to a plurality of different positions onsaid body, a tubular bushing non-rotatable within said hollow casing, asleeve valve rotatable within said tubular bushing, said sleeve valvebeing attached to said cover plate and rotatable therewith within saidtubular bushing, a cup-shaped piston axially slidable within said sleevevalve, said hollow casing having a side air exhaust opening therein,said tubular bushing having a plurality of dilferent capacity side airports each communicating with said hollow casing exhaust opening, saidsleeve valve having a plurality of different capacity side air portstherein, each adapted to be moved into communication with thecorresponding air ports in said tubular bushing whenever said operatinghandle is operated to rotate said sleeve valve to a different position,said piston having a side air port therein adapted to communicate withone of said side air ports in said sleeve valve whenever air pressure ofa predetermined value is present at said bottom air inlet, and a springfor said piston opposing said air pressure.

4. A retainer valve for railroad cars comprising a cylindrical casinghaving a rotatable cover plate enclosing the top end thereof and an airinlet opening at the bottom end, an operating handle on said cover forrotating the same to at least three different positions on said casing,a tubular bushing being non-rotatable within said hollow casing, asleeve valve rotatable within said tubular bushing, said sleeve valvebeing attached to said cover plate and rotatable therewith within saidtubular bushing, a piston axially slidable within said sleeve valve,said hollow casing having a single exhaust air opening therein, saidtubular bushing having at least three air ports therein in communicationwith said hollow casing exhaust air opening, said sleeve valve having atleast three air ports therein each adapted to be placed in communicationwith a different one of said tubular bushing air ports whenever saidoperating handle is actuated to rotate said sleeve valve to a differentone of its three positions, said piston having air passage means thereinadapted to communicate with one of said sleeve valve air ports wheneversaid piston is moved responsive to air pressure from said air inlet of apredetermined value, a spring for said piston opposing said airpressure, an O-ring seal in said tubular bushing between said hollowcasing and said sleeve valve, and a second O-ring seal between saidsleeve valve and said piston.

5. A retainer valve for railroad cars comprising a cylindrical hollowcasing having a top cover plate and a bottom air inlet opening, anoperating handle on said plate rotatable to at least three diiferentpositions, a tubular bushing fixed within said hollow casing, a sleevevalve rotatable within said tubular bushing, said sleeve valve beingattached to said operating handle and rotatable thereby, said hollowcasing having a single air exhaust port therein, said tubular bushinghaving at least three air ports therein in communication with saidhollow casing air exhaust port, said sleeve valve having at least threeair ports therein each adapted to be placed in communication with one ofsaid air ports in said tubular bushing whenever said operating handle isactuated to rotate said sleeve valve to a difierent one of itspositions, a piston axially slidable within said sleeve valve, saidpiston having air passage means therein adapted to communicate with oneof said sleeve valve air ports whenever said piston is moved responsiveto air pressure from said air inlet, a restoring spring for said pistonopposing said air pressure, and an oblique sealing ring in said tubularbushing arranged between said hollow casing and said sleeve valve forsealing 01f communication between said air ports and said air exhaustport, except the port associated with the position to which saidoperating handle has rotated said sleeve valve.

6. In a retainer valve for railroad use, a hollow valve body having anair inlet at the bottom end, a side outlet, and an operating handle atthe top end, a hollow rotary sleeve valve inside said valve bodyattached to said operating handle and adapted to be rotated by saidhandle into each of several different positions, said sleeve valvehaving a plurality of air ports extending through the sides thereof, atubular bushing surrounding said sleeve valve and arranged between thesleeve valve and the inner walls of said valve body, said tubularbushing having a plurality of air ports extending through the sidesthereof and in communication with said side outlet, certain of the airports in said sleeve valve being placed in communication with certain ofthe air ports in said tubular bushing in each rotated position of saidsleeve valve, a spring pressed piston reciprocal in said sleeve valveresponsive to air pressure from said inlet, said piston controlling oneof said air ports in said sleeve valve responsive to a specific airpressure valve, and a sealing ring obliquely arranged in said tubularbushing and serving as an air seal between said sleeve valve and theinner walls of said valve body, said sealing ring arranged to permitonly certain of said air ports between said sleeve valve and tubularbushing to be in communication with each other in each rotated positionof said sleeve valve while sealing ofi the remaining air ports, and asecond O-ring seal between said sleeve valve and said piston.

7. The retainer valve as claimed in claim 6, in which the operatinghandle is frictionally locked in each of its positions by spring presseddetent pins arranged in the sleeve valve engaging recesses in a ringsupported in the valve body.

8. The retainer valve as claimed in claim 6, in which the ports in thesleeve valve are each of a different size and are spaced around thesleeve valve at difierent locations in the sleeve valve.

9. The retainer valve as claimed in claim 6, in which the side outlet isprovided with a dust and insect guard comprising a flexible disc aroundthe air outlet having normally closed slits therein which are openedresponsive to air flow through said outlet.

10. In a retainer valve for use on railroad cars, a hollow valve bodyhaving an air inlet on the bottom end, a side exhaust outlet, and anoperating handle at the top end, a rotatable sleeve valve in said valvebody attached to said operating handle and adapted to be rotated therebyinto each of several different positions, said sleeve valve having airports extending through the sides thereof, a tubular bushing surroundingsaid sleeve valve and fixedly supported between said sleeve valve andthe inner walls of said valve body, said tubular bushing having airports extending through the sides thereof and in communication with saidside outlet, said sleeve air ports being placed 1n communication withsaid tubular bushing air ports in each of the dilferent rotatedpositions of said sleeve valve, and an O-ring supported obliquely insaid tubular bushing and serving as a seal between the outer wall ofsaid sleeve valve and the inner wall of said valve body, said O'-r1ngarranged so that only one of said air ports in said sleeve valve andtubular bushing is in communication with sald side outlet in each of therotated positions of said sleeve valve, while the remaining air portsare sealed off, said tubular bushing being constructed of two identicalparts, the inner ends of which abut said O-ring on opposite sidesthereof and the outer ends being supported on opposite ends of saidvalve body.

11. The retainer valve as claimed in claim 10, in which the tubularbushing is composed of two identical parts, the inner ends of which areobliquely shaped and in abutting relationship with the -O-ring so thatthe O-ring serves to seal both on the inner surface wall and the outersurface Wall of the tubular bushing.

12. The retainer valve as claimed in claim 10, in which a spring pressedpiston is slidable within said sleeve valve and has air passage meanstherein adapted to be placed in communication with one of said sleevevalve air ports when forced upward at normal air pressures and at apredetermined lower pressure the piston air passage means is sealed offby the piston being forced downward.

13. The retainer valve as claimed in claim 10, in which there are atleast three air ports in the sleeve valve each of different size andcapacity and each is located at a different position around the sleevevalve, and in which there are at least three air ports in tubular sleeveof different size and capacity and located at different positions aroundthe tubular bushing.

14. The retainer valve as claimed in claim 10, in which one of thesleeve valve air ports provides a full direct flow path to the sideexhaust outlet; a second sleeve valve air port retains a predeterminedair pressure in the air inlet; and a third sleeve valve air portprovides a continuous slow restricted leakage to said exhaust outlet.

15. A retainer valve for railroad cars which comprises an outer casing,a rotatable indicator plate and a handle therefor, an air inlet openingin said casing, an air exhaust opening in said casing, a fixed bushingin said casing, a rotatable sleeve valve within said fixed bushing,secured to and movable in unison with said indicator plate, and meansmovable within said sleeve valve responsive to air pressure from saidair inlet, a plurality of ports in said fixed sleeve, and in saidrotatable sleeve valve, said ports being of different capacities,adapted thereby, in response to rotation of said valve sleeve, to varythe flow of air from said air inlet opening to said air exhaust opening,and an O-ring seal arranged obliquely between said outer casing and saidrotatable sleeve, said fixed bushing comprising two identicalcylindrical parts abutting said O ring at their inner ends and beingsupported in said outer casing at their outer ends.

16. The structure of claim 15 characterized in that the means movablewithin the sleeve valve responsive to air pressure from the air inletinclude air passage means adapted, in response to movement of saidmeans, to communicate selectively with one or more of the ports in therotatable sleeve valve.

17. A retainer valve for railroad use, including a cylindrical hollowcasing having an air inlet at one end thereof, an exhaust opening insaid casing, an operating handle at the other end of said casing, arotatable sleeve valve within said hollow casing, said sleeve valvebeing attached at one end to said operating handle and rotatabletherewith, said sleeve valve having a plurality of diflerent capacityair ports therein, each adapted to establish communication with saidexhaust opening as said sleeve valve is rotated to diflerent positionswithin said hollow casing, and a piston axially slideable within saidsleeve valve in response to air pressure at said inlet, a spring urgingsaid piston toward said inlet, movement of said piston adapted toestablish communication between said air inlet and one of said sleevevalve air ports.

18. The structure of claim 17 further characterized by and including atubular bushing within said casing, said sleeve valve being movablewithin said bushing, said bushing comprising two parts, separated by anobliquely arranged seal.

References Cited The following references, cited by the Examiner, are

of record in the patented file of this patent or the original patent.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,608,120 11/1926 Price 137--625.32 2,186,791l/1940- Willgoos 137614.17 2,621,886 12/1952 Mueller l37625.47 3,139,9037/1964 Lonn 251-207 ROBERT G. NILSON, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R.

